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Chapter 6
“Don’t make bets about something like that.”
Lersen’s voice was full of disgust as he spoke to Alex.
But Alex didn’t care.
Instead, he smiled and provoked him.
“You’re saying that because you’re afraid you’ll lose.”
“As if.”
“You’re lying.”
Alex laughed.
Just like always, Lersen fell for his provocation.
For some reason, Alex’s laugh always annoyed him.
“In that case, I’ll bet two gold coins that they last one month.”
That was enough to start a wave of betting.
“I’ll bet two weeks and two more days. I don’t think they’ll make it to a month.”
“No. They’ve already lasted two weeks. They might actually be someone impressive.”
A person who spies on others?
For a moment, someone questioned that.
Then they remembered who the target was.
It was Kite, the Mad Dog, Commander of the Gracias Knights.
In many ways, he was an extremely tempting person to investigate.
The excitement around the bets only grew stronger.
People with similar personalities naturally gathered together.
If the knights heard someone say that, they would immediately deny it.
But secretly…
Most of them were more like Kite than they cared to admit.
The only relatively normal one was the vice commander, Seren.
Seeing everyone getting carried away, Seren tried to stop them.
But Kite casually waved his hand.
“Leave them.”
“But, Commander!”
“They need some entertainment.”
“We are knights.”
“Knights can enjoy things too. Stop being so stiff.”
As he spoke, Kite stood up and walked toward the window.
Once again…
He felt someone watching him.
From the row of trees in the distance.
He could clearly sense someone’s presence.
For a moment, he considered rushing out to chase them.
But there was no guarantee he would catch them.
The other person behaved like a frightened rabbit.
“Tsk.”
It bothered him.
It bothered him a great deal.
Still…
They didn’t seem to be a professional.
And so far, they hadn’t actually harmed him.
People called Kite the Mad Dog.
But even the Mad Dog had his own way of thinking.
He didn’t beat people without a reason.
Evelyn placed a hand over her pounding heart.
It felt like our eyes met…
But that couldn’t be possible.
There was a considerable distance between her and the mansion.
Even someone with excellent eyesight wouldn’t easily notice her.
For someone following another person, she was absurdly far away.
But because her target was Grand Duke Gracias, she couldn’t afford to be careless.
After all…
She had seen what happened to the people who crossed him.
The best example was that information broker.
The one who had shown her the missing teeth during their first meeting.
I don’t want my teeth pulled out.
She might have been a poor noble lady from the countryside…
But she had lived peacefully.
She had faced danger before.
Yet she had never been seriously injured.
Nor did she want to be.
Taking a deep breath, Evelyn slowly peeked out from behind the tree again.
This time…
She felt no one watching her.
Maybe I was imagining it.
What a relief.
She placed a hand on her chest and let out a deep sigh.
She remained there until every light inside the mansion went out.
Only then did she finally leave.
Now it was time to make other preparations.
She had spent a long time watching the Grand Duke.
And eventually…
She reached a conclusion.
Sending warning letters was completely useless.
The Grand Duke received an enormous number of letters because of his fame.
Anything sent by an unknown person was thrown away by his servants before it even reached him.
That meant no matter how many letters Evelyn sent…
It would never make a difference.
She couldn’t simply visit him either.
The guards at the gate would throw her out immediately.
“But I don’t want to give up.”
It was the wish her grandfather had wanted to fulfill more than anything.
So Evelyn refused to quit.
Instead, she searched for another way.
Danger was approaching the Grand Duke.
But she had no way to warn him.
And even if she somehow managed to speak to him…
There was almost no chance he would believe her.
So what should she do?
Evelyn began saying out loud everything she knew.
Holding up one finger, she counted.
“I know when the Grand Duke will be in danger.”
The Emperor’s birthday celebration.
After seeing the same dream over and over again…
She was now certain it would happen on that day.
“The problem is… I don’t know anything else.”
She didn’t know who the attackers were.
She didn’t know why they attacked.
She didn’t know what eventually happened to the Grand Duke.
If my dreams were going to tell me the future, they could at least tell me everything.
She sighed.
Then…
A thought suddenly crossed her mind.
What if the Grand Duke simply never left his mansion during the festival?
His mansion was heavily guarded.
It was one of the safest places possible.
“No.”
At first, it sounded like a good idea.
But it wasn’t.
Even if she sent a threatening letter with the exact date…
The Grand Duke would never quietly hide inside his mansion.
Besides…
He probably received threatening letters all the time.
It would be better to kidnap him and lock him somewhere safe.
As soon as that thought crossed her mind…
Evelyn blinked.
It was a rather extreme idea.
Yet somehow…
It didn’t seem like a bad one.
Grandfather had once told her…
If you truly wanted to protect someone…
There were times when you had to give something up.
In this case…
All she had to give up was obeying the law.
“That’s… actually a good idea.”
Much later…
Evelyn would look back on this moment.
She would wonder why her thoughts had taken such a strange turn.
Perhaps it was because she had been exhausted from constantly following the Grand Duke and gathering information.
But…
To actually decide to carry it out…
Maybe…
Her grandfather’s spirit had possessed her for a moment.
After deciding to imprison the Grand Duke, Evelyn immediately became busy.
Since the person she planned to kidnap was no ordinary man…
Her preparations had to be perfect.
For the first time in her life…
She wished she had two bodies.
Whenever Kite moved around the city, she followed him.
Whenever she had free time…
She prepared everything for his imprisonment.
Choosing a place wasn’t difficult.
She already had her grandfather’s basement.
However…
Even that suspiciously well-equipped basement still lacked a few things.
If someone was going to live there comfortably…
It needed more preparation.
The caretaker had never gone down into the basement.
So Evelyn started by cleaning it.
She wiped away the dust.
She spread carpets over the cold floor.
Fortunately, there was already a bed.
She only needed to replace the bedding.
After that…
She prepared food.
There was already a room filled with preserved food.
But…
The Grand Duke was someone her grandfather owed a great debt to.
She wanted him to eat delicious meals.
Most noble ladies never learned to cook.
Evelyn was different.
Her grandfather had taught her many things while taking her into the mountains and forests.
How to roast quail wrapped in clay.
How to make stew using grain flour and dried meat.
How to roast freshly caught animals whole.
How to prepare mushrooms and fruit.
And because mountain nights were cold…
He had also taught her how to make hot stew.
Sometimes… I even cooked for Grandfather.
Whenever she did…
He would finish eating and proudly give her a thumbs-up.
“You have a talent for cooking.”
Of course…
Maybe he only said that because she was his beloved granddaughter.
But still…
If someone praised her cooking…
Surely that meant it tasted at least decent.
Evelyn quietly cleared her throat.
Fortunately, the markets in the capital sold every ingredient she needed.
Preparing meals wouldn’t be a problem.
The real problem was something else.
Grandfather had always said that people couldn’t live on food, clothing, and shelter alone.
“People need something to enjoy as well.”
He was right.
With the Grand Duke’s personality…
Who knew what he might do if he became bored?
She decided to prepare something to help pass the time.
Games…
There probably weren’t any games he could play alone.
Besides…
If the Grand Duke asked her to play together…
She wasn’t confident she could survive it.
So instead…
She decided to buy some books.
But… I don’t know what kind of books he likes.
After thinking for a while, Evelyn visited a bookstore.
Just in case someone traced her purchases later…
She chose a small second-hand bookstore hidden in the back alleys.
After observing it for a while, she noticed several things.
Compared to other bookstores, the books here were older.
There were very few customers.
And because of his age…
The owner often forgot things.
It seemed like a safe place.
Ding.
As Evelyn opened the door, a small bell rang.
“Welcome.”
The bookstore owner smiled warmly as he stood up from his chair.
